Harrowing Moment Exhausted New York Carriage Horse Collapses in Manhattan Street ‘After Driver Pushed it to Make a Green Light’

A witness leaving a NYC nightclub on Friday has claimed that a carriage horse collapsed because its owner was pushing it to get through a green light.

Bogdan Paul Angheluta was leaving the Spaze Ibiza nightclub at around 2am when he says he witnessed the caretaker screaming at the horse, which already looked exhausted, according to Angheluta. The 14-year-old horse then collapsed in the middle of the busy Manhattan street, prompting the police to close off the intersection.

Image Source: Bogdan Paul Angheluta

Though the owner has since claimed that the horse simply tripped and fell, Angheluta is adamant that this was not the case, and the animal was obviously extremely tired and was breathing “slow and hard” after it collapsed. He told the New York Post:”I’m 100 percent positive. (The driver) was forcing him to make the light.”

Angheluta said that the horse was on the floor for around 20 minutes. A group of men from the stable arrived soon after with a bucket of water and something that they put in the horse’s mouth. Angheluta, who had been cradling the animal’s head in an attempt to “calm him down”, was asked by the men to “leave the horse alone”, he said.

“I was yelling at them” he said. “I was frustrated, angry.”

Witness Bogdan Paul Angheluta. Image Source: J C Rice

The horse was eventually helped to its feet and the police officer told Angheluta that there was “no need to worry”, but the incident left him shaken. He sent photos of the collapsed horse to animal-rights group NYCLASS, who then contacted the New York Health Department (NYPD).

Christopher Miller, spokesperson for the NYPD, stated that the events were investigated and ‘Norman’ the horse was given an examination by a veterinarian.

Miller added that the department had concluded that Norman had ‘tripped and fell’.

Norman with Christina Hansen. Image Source: J C Rice

Meanwhile, Christina Hansen, a spokeswoman for the New York carriage industry, said that Norman simply fell over on his way back to the Clinton Park Stables after his shift. “He didn’t collapse, he tripped himself,” she said. “He’s kind of a klutz.”